MELONS, Continued 
Hearts of Gold or Improved Hoodoo— 
Nearly round 2-lb. fruit, distinctly 
ribbed, deep green with fine grey net- 
ting. Thick, deep salmon flesh, tender 
sweet. 94 days. 
Honey Rock or Sugar Rock—Round, 4- 
Ib. fruit. Grey-green skin, coarse, sparse 
netting. Orange-salmon, thick flesh, fine 
flavor. 85 days. 
Pride of Wisconsin—Small seed cavity 
and thick, orange flesh, excellent flavor. 
Matures early. Large size. A new melon 
which is deservedly becoming a leader. 
92 days. 
Watermelon 
Requires about same culture as musk- 
melon, except the vines need more 
room, Fertilize each hill liberally and 
cultivate thoroughly. 
Dixie Queen—Very prolific. Bright red, 
crisp, splendid quality fibreless flesh. 
Very few small, white seeds. 85 days. 
Early Kansas— New variety, early. 
Large, oval, dark green with light green 
striping. Flesh solid deep red; texture 
fine; tender; delicious flavor. 80 days. 
Kleckley’s Sweet — Large, cylindrical, 
dark bluish-green, with thin, tender rind. 
Bright red, juicy, sweet flesh, creamy- 
white seeds with traces of brown. 85 
days. 
Stone Mountain— Also called Dixie 
Belle. High quality shipping variety. 
Fruits very large, oval-round, blunt ends. 
Dark green, tough rind. Flesh rich 
scarlet, fine grained, sweet. Seed white 
with black tips. 90 days. 
Transplanting vs. Direct 
Seeding 
Some assume a_ special virtue for 
transplanting, which is supposed to 
give the seedling superior vigor. 
Actually, transplanting is an opera- 
tion from which the seedling must 
recover before it can begin to grow 
again. If there is ever any question 
between direct seeding or transplant- 
ing, direct seeding should always get 
first choice if there is still time to 
grow a crop. 
Starting seedlings indoors 
Don’t begin too soon. For most plants, 
flowers and vegetables alike, 5 to 6 
weeks is soon enough before trans- 
planting to begin. Light in the aver- 
age home is too feeble for good 
growth unless flats are grown in a 
window that gets at least 6 hours of 
direct sunshine daily. Fill shallow 
boxes (called flats) with mixture of 
14 good garden soil, 13 clean sand and 
144 compost or leaf mould. Make very 
shallow rows or drills with the edge 
of a ruler, 3” apart. Sow seeds in these 
1” apart. For most plants temperature 
of 70° is best. 
Soil must never dry out, yet must not 
be saturated. Spray with atomizer if 
possible two or three times daily. 
When best seedlings can be selected, 
thin out to stand 2” to 3” apart. Be- 
fore transplanting, withhold water for 
3 to 4 days. When set out in perma- 
~ 
Tom Watson — Outstanding red heart 
strain. Large fruit, uniform cylindrical, 
with tough, elastic rind, faintly veined. 
90 days. 
MUSTARD 
Southern Giant Curled (Long standing) 
—Popular curled-leaf for spring or fall 
planting. Pleasing mild flavor and very 
large. 35 days. 
Spinach Mustard or Tendergreen — 
Quick-growing green, combining mus- 
tard and spinach flavors. 28 days. 
OKRA OR GUMBO 
Do not plant until ground is warm, as 
this is a tender, hot weather plant. 
Pick before woody fibres develop. 
Dwarf Green — Early, prolific dwarf- 
growing sort. Dark green fluted, 5 to 
7-in. pointed pods. 50 days. 
Improved Long Green — Handsome 
plants of medium height bear long, 
tender pods which remain tender a long 
time, and free from hard ridges. 60 days. 
White Velvet—Early and prolific. Pods 
pale greenish-white, 6 to 7-in. long. 
Meaty, tender, 62 days. 
ONIONS 
Plant as soon as soil can be prepared 
For best yield, plant on rene Variile 
Jand—fall plowed, and thoroughly fer- 
tilized. When plants are a few inches 
tall, thin to prevent crowding—using 
the plants removed as green onions. 
Those left to become fully ripe can be 
stored for winter. Cultivate and hand 
weed every 2 weeks during summer. 
nent position, water freely and seed- 
Red Varieties 
Red Wethersfield—Popular, good keep- 
er, used extensively for sets. Medium 
large, flat bottomed bulbs with sloping 
top. Purplish-red. Fine grained flesh, 
firm, slightly flushed with pink. 100 to 
102 days. 
Southport Red Globe—Finest of all red 
onions. Perfectly round, good sized 
bulbs with thick, small necks. Skin is 
deep purplish-red. Strong flavored flesh, 
white tinged with pink. Good keeper, 
productive. 112-114 days. 
White Varieties 
Ebenezer — Used mostly for growing 
sets. Bulbs flat, deep yellow, firm, thick 
skinned, about 2 or 3 inches in diameter. 
Keeps extremely well. Maturity 110 
days. 
Southport White Globe — Best of the 
whites. Medium-sized, round, solid 
white bulbs, fine thin skin. Waxy white 
flesh, mild and fine grained. Keeps well 
in fall. 110 to 112 days. 
Sweet Spanish—Pearl-white color, mild 
flavor. Solid and crisp. Largest of the 
white onions. 110 days. 
White Portugal or Silverskin—Excel- 
lent flat variety. Dependable cropper, 
excellent for sets, for green bunching, 
or as a pickler. 100 to 102 days. 





Practical answers to every-day 
questions about home gardening 
two weeks, no sooner and no later. 
lings should start growing again with- 
out severe check. Always try to save 
as many roots as possible. 
Set firmly by pressing on both sides 
of stem. If soil is not firmed around 
roots, seedling may be killed when 
“hung” with space under it. 
As soon as garden has been planted, 
water thoroughly but gently to avoid 
formation of crust. If crust forms, 
break by working gently on either 
side of planted row. In the case of 
slow-germinating, delicate seedlings 
like carrots, it pays to mix a few 
radish seeds with them so these quick- 
germinating seedlings will break thru 
and mark the row. Otherwise you 
may have to delay cultivation until 
too late for good weed control. 
Weeding vs. weed control 
In soils in good tilthy condition, the 
main purpose of cultivation is to 
destroy weeds. Weeds are harmful 
because they shade desirable plants, 
because they rob them of food, and 
because they use up soil moisture. 
Annual weeds are usually easy to 
kill if we can keep them from seed- 
ing. Deep-rooted perennial weeds like 
bindweed, Canada thistle and quack 
grass, however, are another problem. 
The simplest way to control these is 
to take the soil out of cultivation and 
destroy them with a 2,4D weed killer. 
If this isn’t feasible, the only other 
control is to cut off the tops every 
Tf cut sooner, they do not use up their 
stored starch reserve. If cut later, 
they recover some of this reserve. 
In lighter soils it is sometimes pos- 
sible to dig out the roots, but every 
last piece must be found and de- 
stroyed or it will re-infest the entire 
garden. 




























The right conditions for a success- 
ful indoor start are not difficult to 
achieve. Any gardener can do the 
trick by applying a reasonable 
amount of care and attention. 
Use a box three inches deep and 
of any suitable size. Space the bot- 
tom boards about an eighth of an 
inch apart to provide drainage. 
Sift soil and use the coarser part 
in the bottom, with an inch of fine 
soil on top. Press around edges of 
box with a brick or board to firm 
the soil. Add more sifted soil and 
draw the straight edge of a lath 
or ruler across the top to level. 
Press furrows about one-quarter 
of an inch deep into the soil, 
the furrows spaced about 2” apart. 
Plant seeds 34” apart to allow room 
to lift each seedling without dis- 
turbing the rest. After seeding, 
fill furrow with clean sand or 
sifted soil and press down soil over 
entire box until it is 12” below 
upper edge. 
11 

